Continuous wire conveyor and roller extractor



June 13, 1961 P. ROBLEDANO 2,937,938

CONTINUOUS WIRE CONVEYOR AND ROLLER EXTRACTOR Filed Jan. 27, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H540 BOELEDA/VO, lwnswrae.

June 13, 1961 P. ROBLEDANO CONTINUOUS WIRE CONVEYOR AND ROLLER EXTRACTOR Filed Jan. 2'7, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l r l EBLQ Baez. EDA/v0,

United States Patent pines) Filed Jan. 27, 1958, Ser. No. 711,475 Claims. (Cl. 100-118) This invention relates to apparatus for the extraction of liquids from fibrous pulps, such as fruit pulp, shredded oil-containing meats, wet cellulose pulp and the like,

A particular object of the invention is to provide a press for the treatment of fibrous pulps wherein simple and efficient constructions are obtained through use of pairs of opposing pressing rollers, endless wire conveyor means being employed between such pressing rollers and extending at least to one side thereof to provide a bed for receiving the wet pulp.

It is a further object of the invention to employ such endless wire conveyor means in the form of a multiplicity of evenly spaced or parallel wire strands disposed sufficiently close together to intercept the fibers when the liquid passes through the wire bed.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of means to clear the rollers and the wire strands of separated fiber formations accumulated thereon and means to recover the separated liquid from a roller surface and conduct it to a reception point.

Other objects of the invention and various features of construction thereof will become apparent to those skilled in this art upon reference to the accompanying drawings and the following specification wherein certain embodiments are illustrated.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is principally an end elevation, approximately as indicated by line 11 of FIG. 2, showing a pair of contiguous presser rollers, parallel wire strands being received in grooves in the lower presser roller and also in grooves in supplementary spacing and positioning rollers;

FIG. 2 is a plan view taken from the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 illustrating the construction of FIG. 1 used in conjunction with an endless wide fabric conveyor belt overlying the Wire strands which support and position the belt;

FIG, 4 is a fragmentary plan view on a reduced scale, taken from the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an elevational detail of a comb employed to clear the wire strands, especially in the form of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a similar view disclosing liquid scrapers and removers employed in the forms of FIGS. 1 and 3;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 wherein a single endless wire is employed to constitute all of the parallel wire strands required for the conveyor;

FIG. 8 is a plan view taken from the line 8-8 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 showing a simplified form of construction,

In each of the forms illustrated two superimposed presser rollers are employed, these being in the form of an upper roller 10 in contact with a lower roller 12. The upper roller 10 has a continuous smooth outer cylindrical surface and is carried upon a horizontal shaft 14. The lower roller 12 is carried upon a horizontal shaft 15 and is provided with a multiplicity of annular grooves 16 such as indicated in FIG. 2. In each groove 16 there runs a wire strand 18 which is parallel to a multiplicity of other wire strands 18 constituting a wire strand conveyor.

Adequate pressure of the upper roller 10 upon the lower roller 12 to effect adequate liquid extraction is accomplished in any appropriate manner, such as by the mere eifect of gravity causing the upper roller 10 to bear upon the lower roller 12. This may be accomplished simply by slight freedom in the journalling of the ends of the upper shaft 14. Or, conventional spring-pressed trunnions may be used to support the ends of the shaft 14 of the upper roller 10. Or, any other appropriate pressure-applying means may be used as is well understood in the arts.

Preferably the upper and lower rollers 14) and 12 are driven at the same surface speeds, as by meshing gears 20 of equal sizes carried on the shafts 14 and 15 as seen in FIG. 2.

In the form of FIGS, 1 and 2, two auxiliary rollers 22 and 23 of considerably smaller diameter than the roller 12 are employed. These two rollers are provided with annular grooves 24 corresponding with the grooves 16 of the roller 12, these grooves 24 also receiving the parallel wire strands 18. Thus the rollers 22 and 23 will be mounted to place appropriate tension upon the parallel strands 18, which in the form illustrated are individual endless loops whose lower portions, as seen in FIG. 1, engage in the grooves 16 at the under side of the roller 12. In order to insure adequate frictional contact of the wire strands 18 in the grooves 16 and 24 and make certain the travel of the strands 18 between the rollers 10 and 12 with a charge of wet pulp, it is desirable to drive the shaft 15 of the lower roller 12 in some positive manner, as by means of an electric motor generally represented at 25. In addition to the respective gear 20, the shaft 15 is provided with a corresponding sprocket 26 and the shafts for the rollers 22 and 23 are also provided with corresponding sprockets 28 which are driven from the sprocket 26 as by an endless chain 30. Thus, by such positive drive of the rollers 12, 22 and 23 and appropriate tension upon the wire strands 18 in the mentioned grooves 16 and 24, as through proper setting of the rollers 22 and 23, a good friction drive of the wire strands 18 in the direction of the arrows seen in FIG. 1 is assured.

In operation of this form of improvement, a wet pulp is supplied to the bed provided by the spaced Wire strands 18 at a position where the pulp is fed into the space between the wire strands 18 and the upper roller. Such a position is indicated at 32 in FIG. 1.

For many pulps the spacing between adjacent wire strands may be about inch. This may vary according to pulps, such as between about or inch and about or inch. With the indicated proper tensioning of the parallel strands 18 an excellent pulp-receiving'bed is provided in the area on top of the strands 18 between the auxiliary roller 22 and the contact point of the upper presser roller 10 with the lower roller 12.

In the operation of the form of FIGS. 1 and 2, juice in the case of fruit pulps, or water in the case of aqueous pulps like cellulose pulps, or oil in the case of shredded coconut meats or the like, when brought into the receiving and pressing zone between the strands 18 and the upper roller 10 is forced between the strands 18 and flows down either side of the lower roller 12 according to circumstances, such as the speed of rotation, the pulp remaining above the wire strands 18 and largely adhering to the smooth cylindrical surface of the upper roller 10. Such adhering pulp is scraped off the roller 10 by a scraper 34 applied to the rising surface of such roller as seen at the left of FIG. 1. This loosened pulp drops back onto the open conveyor surface provided by the wire strands 18 and is largely discharged beyond the auxiliary roller 23 to any means of disposition. Portions of fiber which remain may be removed as by a comb 36, an elevation of which is seen in FIG. 5 wherein the teeth are spaced approximately the diameter of the wire strands If necessary, the comb 36 may be used on the under 3 portions of the wire strands 18 adjacent each of the rollers 22 and 23.

The liquid, which passes between the strands 18, and may, at least in part, flow down the rising side of the grooved roller 12, depending upon the speed of rotation thereof, or may pass through to the descending side of the roller 12, is removed by two liquid-collecting scrapers 37, each of which has a trough 38 which leads the collected liquid off to the side of the press. Also, each scraper 37 is provided with a series of fingers 39 which enter the grooves 16 to remove liquid contained within such grooves.

For pulps with extremely fine fibers it may be desirable to employ a wide metal screen or other fabric band conveyor 40, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, of sufiiciently fine and delicate construction of effect the required filtering action. In this case, the supporting characteristics of the wire strand construction of FIGS. 1 and 2 are advantageously used to support the fabric band conveyor 40 in the region between the tensioning rollers 22 and 23, whose positions with respect to the upper smooth roller and the lower grooved roller 12 are the same as in FIG. 1 and whose scrapers 34 and 37 are the same. With this form the band 40, which may be of cotton or similar cloth or metal fabric, is positioned as by means of three rollers 42, and the wet pulp to be treated is supplied to the same feeding zone 32 as indicated in FIG.

1. Since the fibers being removed from the pulp in a this case do not directly contact the wire strands 18, the combs 36 used in the structure of FIG. 1 are not required. However, a rotary brush 44 ordinarily will be used at some place along the lower runs of the band 40 to brush off any retained fibers. A similar rotary brush 45 may be used in the form of FIG. 1 adjacent the auxiliary roller 22 to sweep off the last residual fibers that might be carried by the strands 18 beyond the combs 36.

A further modification of the form of FIG. 1 is seen in FIG. 7. Here the same two presser rollers 10 and 12 are used as before, as is the fiber removing scraper 34 and one of the liquid-collecting troughs 37. Here, however, only the one auxiliary roller 22 is employed, the opposite portions of the strands passing directly around the far side of the grooved roller 12. However, an appropriately modified liquid collecting scraper 47 may be used on such far side of the roller 12 outside the wire strands as may be necessary.

In FIG. 7, instead of using the multiplicity of individual endless wire strands 18 of the form of FIGS. 1 and 2, a single endless conveyor wire 48 is employed. As

seen in the plan view of FIG. 8, this wire 48 deflects somewhat as it leaves the under portion of each groove 16 of the grooved lower roller 12 and is received in a relatively offset groove 24 of the auxiliary roller 22. Thus, a sort of zig-zag arrangement of the long endless wire 48, or configuration of helical characteristics, results as such wire 48 extends from end to end of the rollers 12 and 22. This arrangement of the single wire 48 requires cross return of a portion 48a thereof from one end of the roller 22 to the other end, and this is effected through the medium of two horizontally arranged transfer rollers 50, best seen in FIG. 8. In this form the comb 36 is again used to clear the lower runs of the wire 48,

and the rotary brush 45 is employed to sweep off such runs as they passup over the auxiliary roller 22.

The form of improvement of FIG. 1 may be further modified as indicated in FIG. 9 by employing the main presser rollers 10 and 12 and only the single auxiliary roller 22, the wire strands 18 of FIG. 1 being retained rather than the single endless wire 48 of FIGS. 7 and 8. Here the comb 36 is employed as in the case of the comb at the right of FIG. 1, and the inside trough scraper 37 is employed as in the arrangement in FIG. 7. Additionally, however, the outside modified trough scraper 47 may be used on the opposite side of the roller 12 as in FIG. 7,

a and of course the scraper 34 for removal of the fibrous layer from the upper roller 10 will be used.

In all forms appropriate gears, sprockets and chains are used to drive the various rollers at the same surface speeds, as generally indicated in FIG. 2.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that I may efficiently remove liquids from various pulps by the employment of relatively closely spaced wire strands passing between a pair of powered presser rollers, and respectively received in a multiplicity of grooves in the lower roller accommodating such wire strands. In these instances a tensioning auxiliary roller, similarly grooved, positions the wire strands adjacent the feeding space 32 between the two presser rollers so as to form a bed to receive the wet pulp. In such a construction the wire strands may be in the form of a multiplicity of spaced individual endless bands or loops as in FIGS. 1, 2 and 9, or they may be provided by the single long endless wire 48 as seen in FIGS 7 and 8. Again, where important to employ a fine or delicate filtering medium, such a device may be an endless band of suitable material passing over and stabilized by the wire strands 18, or the like, as in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a roller press: two superimposed contiguous rollers, one of said rollers having a plurality of closely arranged circular grooves; endless wire strand conveyor members of smaller size than the size of the grooves disposed about said one roller and positioned in said grooves to form a fiber-retaining bed; roller means spaced horizontally from said contiguous rollers and around which said endless conveyor members are, passed to tension said members and establish said wire fiber-retaining bed for receiving a pulp of fiber and liquid to be squeezed between said rollers; means for removal of the pressed fiber; and means for collecting the liquid.

2. A press as in claim 1 wherein said wires are spaced approximately inch apart.

3. In a press as in claim 1: brush means engaging said wire conveyor members and the roller means to remove fibrous material therefrom.

4. In a roller press: two superimposed contiguous rollers, one of said rollers having a plurality of closely arranged circular grooves; endless wire strand conveyor members disposed about said one roller and positioned in said grooves to form a fiber-retaining bed; roller means spaced horizontally from said contiguous rollers and around which said endless conveyor members are passed to tension said members and establish said wire fiber-retaining bed for receiving a pulp of fiber and liquid to be squeezed between said rollers; a comb straddling said wire members to remove collected fibers therefrom; a scraper contacting one of said contiguous rollers to remove fibers therefrom; and a second scraper contacting the other of said contiguous rollers to remove liquid therefrom.

5. A press as in claim 4 wherein said second scraper includes trough means to conduct the collected liquid and has collecting fingers engaging .in said grooves.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 16,261 Abbott Dec. 23, 1856 253,425 Randall Feb. 7, 1882 458,015 Chapman Aug. 18, 1891 568,586 Richards Sept. 29, 1896 1,268,247 Hyatt June 4, 1918 1,653,991 Davis Dec. 27, 1927 1,912,467 Scharnberg June 6, 1933 2,080,048 Kaufiman May 11, 1937 2,682,216 Shields June 29, 1954 2,715,871 Dosne et al Aug. 23, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 98,235 Sweden Mar. 5, 1,940 

